FGCU baseball defeats Fordham, ties #26 Illinois

FORT MYERS, Fla. (FGCU Athletics) – The FGCU baseball team (3-4-1) experienced a true rarity the game of college baseball on Sunday afternoon; a tie. The Eagles defeated Fordham, 15-8 to begin the day in a back-and-forth affair then took the field with nationally ranked Illinois and battled a 4-4 tie after nine innings in game that had a 5:45 p.m. curfew. The Fighting Illini needed to catch their flight out of Fort Myers and therefore had to put a deadline on the game.

Brady Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto HS) took the mound in the first game and struggled through 4.0 innings of work during which he would allow seven runs on nine hits while striking out five. Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carrol HS) took over and tossed 4.0 innings of four-hit ball while allowing just one run to fall in line for his first win of the season.

In game two it was the freshman Devin Smeltzer (Voorhees, N.J./Bishop Eustace Prep) taking the mound for the Green and Blue opposite Illinois. The lefty worked through 6.1 innings and gave up seven hits which resulted in three runs but only two earned while striking out one against two walks. He would turn the ball over to Garrett Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto HS) who was brilliant through 2.2 innings of work but he would give up the game-tying single with two outs in the ninth that would ultimately secure the tie.

“Our bats came alive in both games but it’s disappointing not to come away with two wins today,” head coach Dave Tollett said. “We had our chance to close this one out and came up short. To Illinois’ credit, they’re a very good team and they kept battling.”

GAME 1
Fordham was the first to strike in game one. In the top of the second, Anderson would surrender two runs and turn things over to the Eagle offense which would not find its way onto the scoreboard until the third. Blake Berger (Jacksonville, Fla./Santa Fe College) led off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Brian Pruett (Sarasota, Fla./Coastal Carolina) was then hit by a pitch and Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) followed with a walk to load the bases. Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) then came to the plate and took a pitch off the elbow to drive in the first FGCU run. Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) followed with a single up the middle, driving in two more runs then it was Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) doubling in the gap in left-center to drive in one more and give the Eagles a 4-2 lead.

FGCU added three more runs in the fourth to take a 7-5 lead but Fordham broke out the rally caps in the top of the fifth. Anderson surrendered three consecutive singles to start the inning, resulting in one run, then hit a batter and gave up a double to drive in three more and bring the score to a 7-6 FGCU lead. Koerner came on at that point and gave up a triple, followed by a single which allowed Fordham to tie the game and take the lead, 8-7.

The Eagles would respond in a big way in the bottom half of the frame. With one out, Zach Spivey (Ormond Beach, Fla./Spruce Creek HS) singled through the left side forcing the Rams to go to the bullpen. David Manasek took over and walked Pruett, hit Reardon then walk Noll in succession to bring in the tying run. Manasek would be replaced at that point but FGCU continued to roll with a walk followed by back-to-back doubles to jump ahead 12-8.

The Eagles tacked on a run in the sixth and two more in the eighth as the combination of Koerner and Jack English (Delray Beach, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) locked down the Rams the rest of the way to pick up the victory. Seven of the nine Eagles in the lineup picked up two hits in the ball game with Noll leading the way with four runs scored. Reardon and Spivey each scored three times while Bottomley led the way with four RBI. Rivera and Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) each drove in three runs while Noll and Adam Eggnatz (Tampa, Fla./Middle Georgia College) each drove in two.

GAME 2
Illinois jumped on Smeltzer early game two. The Fighting Illini would put up one run in each of the first three innings including a long homerun to right-center field in the second by David Kerian. The Eagles only answered once, in the bottom of the first, when Noll singled and stole second with two outs then came home on a Selesky single to right.

Smeltzer settled in at that point and it was the bottom of the fifth that would prove fruitful for the Green and Blue for the second game in-a-row. Spivey led off the frame with a hard-hit double down the left-field line. Pruett would follow with a walk and both runners would move into scoring position thanks to a Reardon sacrifice bunt. Noll then came to the plate drove the first pitch he saw to right-center. The Illinois center fielder moved onto the line-drive but dropped it allowing the first FGCU run to score. Bottomley sacrificed Noll to second then Illinois went to the bullpen.

Golden Spikes Award nominee, left-hander Tyler Jay would take the mound for Illinois to face Rivera with two outs and two runners in scoring position. Rivera worked a full count before driving a double to deep left-center, driving in both runs and giving the Eagles the lead. That would be all the Eagles would get in the fifth but it proved to be enough for Smeltzer who cruised through the sixth and into the seventh before being replaced by Anderson.

Garrett would strike out two in the seventh and work a perfect eighth before heading to the ninth with a 4-3 lead and in search of his second save of the season. Kerian walked then was pinch-run for. His replacement would be caught in a run-down for the first out of the inning. Anderson then surrendered a single through the left side and picked up a groundout which allowed the runner at first to advance into scoring position. Pat McInerney then came to the plate and took Anderson’s 0-1 offering and drove it through the left side for a single, allowing the runner to score from second and tie the game, 4-4.

FGCU would send four to the plate in the ninth but none would advance past first resulting in the game ending in FGCU‘s first tie since turning Div. I and first since the 2003 season. The Eagles would actually pick up their only two ties in program history that season. First to East Stroudsburg, 10-10, on Mar. 21 and then opposite Barry, 11-11, on Apr. 8. It is the first tie by and Atlantic Sun team since 1998.